Automotive vehicle dash heat and sound insulation



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March 15, 1938. w. N. MAYO 2,111,219

AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE DASH HEAT AND SOUND INSULATION Filed March 6, 1936INVENT OR.

\ William N. Mayo ATTORNEY. 5

Patented Mar. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLEDASH HEAT AND SOUND INSULATION William N. Mayo, Detroit, Mich., assignorto zonolite Corporation of Michigan,

Detroit,

Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application March 6, 1936, Serial No.67,416

2 Claims.

This invention relates to automotive vehicle dash heat and soundinsulation and more particularly to a heat and sound insulating boardfor this purpose.

It is customary in the manufacture of automotive vehicles to prevent thetransmission of heat and noise from the motor through the bodydash-board into the vehicle body. At present it is common practice toinsulate the vehicle body dash by covering the inside face of the dashwith a loosely felted or woven mat of jute or similar fibers. This jutemat is used primarily for sound absorption to prevent the transmissionof motor noises through the dash into the body. The

.jute or similar sound absorbing mat is covered by a compressedfiberboard, such as Celotex. This compressed wood fiberboard is usedprimarily as a heat insulator to prevent the transmission of the engineheat through the dash into the vehicle body. This compressed woodfiberboard is stiff and self-sustaining and therefore must be cut into aplurality of pieces to conform to the contour of the body dash. In someinstances the jute mat, which is limp and not self-sustaining, iscemented to the compressed wood fiberboard. The wood fiberboard is thencovered by a decorative lining such as an embossed fiber and asphaltcomposition board which is thermoplastic and easily deformable to fitthe contour of the dash. The entire assembly of the jute mat, woodfiberboard, and fiber asphalt board is then bolted to the dash.- Thiscommonly used arrangement for heat and sound insulating the dash is notonly cumbersome but expensive.

It is the object of this invention to produce a board which is cheap,light in weight, and has excellent sound absorbing as well as heatinsulating properties, and which in the making can be very easily formedto fit any contour desired, such as the contour of the vehicle dash.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a section through the dash-board of an automotive vehicleshowing the dash-board insulated with the board which is the subjectmatter of this invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the board, and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the same.

The board I, which is the subject matter of this invention, may be madefrom any soft fiber material 2 such as jute, hair, hair felt, felt,cotton fiber, felt corn products, wood fiber, sugar cane, and thevarious mineral wools and fibers. These fiber materials are felted orwoven in the form of a mat or web. The jute or other fibrous web is softand limp or flexible so that it is not self-sustaining but has goodsound and some heat insulating properties. The thickness of the jute orother fibrous web will vary depending upon the uses to which it will beput.

Inasmuch as this type of jute or other fibrous web is limp and notself-sustaining, it must be stiffened or reenforced so that a jute orfibrous board is obtained which retains all of the desirable propertiesof a jute fiber web but which has the undesirable limp or flexiblecharacteristic obviated. ,This object is obtained by sizing one or bothfaces of the jute or similar fibrous web with a sizing composition 3containing a heat insulating material which is preferably zonolite orsome other exfoliated vermiculite or rock wool or some other fireproofinsulator. The zonolite or other fire-resistant, heat insulator isincorporated in a mixture or emulsion of a suitable binder such aslatex, bentonite and water. The zonolite or other fire-resistant, heatinsulator is comminuted and may vary in fineness so that it will passthrough a screen ranging from ten to one hundred mesh, that is, havingfrom ten to one hundred openings per square inch of screen. The jutefiber mat or mat made from the other above-mentioned fibrous materialsis then sized on one or both sides by dipping or otherwise treating withthe above-mentioned sizing. Upon drying the sizing becomes stiff andstiffens and rigidifies the jute fiber mat thus making a board. If theboard is to be used other than on fiat surfaces, the jute mat,subsequent to sizing and before the size dries, is placed in a suitableform corresponding to the contour of the dash, for example, and thesizing permitted to dry. After drying, the thus sized jute board willconform to the contour of the dash or other surface upon which it isused.

Aside from rigidifying and making a board out of the jute fiber mat, thezonolite or other sizing makes the board fire-resisting and heatinsulating.

A jute fiber mat sized on one or both surfaces with a zonolite sizing,upon drying to form a board, can be used for heat and sound insulatingthe vehicle body dash as effectively and efficiently as theabove-mentioned heat and sound insulating assembly presently being usedcom prising the jute fiber mat, compressed wood fiberboard, anddecorative fiber asphalt composition board.

This jute fiber or other soft felted board having the zonolite sizingcan be embossed while wet with any desirable surface ornamentation andcolored to suit the individual requirements of the user.

After the woven fabric or felted jute web is sized and the sizing dried,a board is formed consisting of three layers or plies, an inner layer ofjute between two stiff outer layers consisting principally of zonolitebound to the jute. The jute inner layer remains compressible and softand thus retains its sound insulating properties and the dry sizingwhich has penetrated the jute fibers adjacent the surface of the juteinner layer, integrates these outer fibers and forms one or two spacedouter layers which serve as stiflfeners and cooperate to make theresultant board self-supporting. However, the resultant board isbendable and flexible. Upon being bent or twisted, the jute inner layer,owing to its compressibility or distortability, permits relativemovement between the outer layers of zonolite or other sizing.

I claim: 1. An automotive vehicle dash heat and sound insulatorcomprising an inner layer of a limp,-

non-self-sustaining fibrous material forming a sound insulator, and arigidifying coating on one or both faces of the fibrous material ofcommlnuted exfoliated vermiculite, and a binder for binding thecommlnuted exfoliated vermiculite to itself and the fibrous layer.

2. A fire-resistant, heat and sound insulating board comprising acompressible, limp inner layer of fibrous material and a coating for oneor both of the faces of the inner layer of a sizing comprisingcomminuted exfoliated vermiculite bound to, and impregnating the outersurfaces of the inner fiber layer, and a binder for binding thecomminuted exfoliated vermiculite to the inner layer, the said sizingcoating on the outer face of the fibrous inner layer serving as astiffener to make the board self-sustaining.

WILLIAM N. MAYO.

